Posted on 02/06/2018 3:21:46 PM PST by mandaladon
President Trump’s vision of soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the boulevards of Washington is moving closer to reality in the Pentagon and White House, where officials say they have begun to plan a grand military parade later this year showcasing the might of America’s armed forces.
Trump has long mused publicly and privately about wanting such a parade, but a Jan. 18 meeting between Trump and top generals in the Pentagon’s tank — a room reserved for top secret discussions — marked a tipping point, according to two officials briefed on the planning.
Surrounded by the military’s highest ranking officials, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford, Trump’s seemingly abstract desire for a parade was suddenly heard as a presidential directive, the officials said.
“The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France,” said a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the planning discussions are supposed to remain confidential. “This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.”
American shows of military strength don’t come cheap. The cost of shipping Abrams tanks and high-tech hardware to Washington could run in the millions, and military officials said it was unclear how they would pay for it.
A White House official familiar with the planning described the discussions as “brainstorming” and said nothing is settled. “Right now there’s really no meat on the bones,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
In St Louis they used to roll out some tanks, helicopters and do a National Guard flyby on Veteran’s Day. And there would be Colonial & Civil War reenactors with horses, WW1 & 2, Korea, Nam vets, and folks who had military “classics” like jeeps and amphibious ducks. The Native American vet groups would ride on a float with a huge drum. All the high school bands with patriotic directors would show from both sides of the river with pompom squads and flag and rifle squads.
With all the kids and families it didn’t look like an Eastern Bloc parade because it was obvious that the thing was put on to honor vets and remind people to be thankful, not some sort of communist show glorifying the equipment size and numbers.
I find it awesome to see President Trump & General Patton have similar features. Even their expressions are similar.
How about during 4th of July?
I wonder if the streets of D.C. can handle the weight of armored tanks?
Well, he could stage a really cheap parade for the press on April 1 and just fill a reviewing stand on Pennsylvania Avenue with officials and call out some high school bands.
Have the cops prepare as usual, get an announcer with a good imagination, space the bands really far apart, then all the officials and staff listen to some speeches, have Trump stand up and surprise the press with a speech to honor our new stealth forces, and then have the officials act like they are watching “invisible tanks” and “stealth units,” roll by between the bands....
Would be a great prank.
My folks took us to every veterans and memorial day parade there was because my sister was a piccolo player. Stars and Stripes forever and ever and ever and ever and ever...
They can handle Jerry Nadler
Yep. Bad idea. The world already knows our might.
Cool! It is overdue for us to have a May Day type military parade.
Like
Looking forward to ANTIFA protesting this one.
“We have many other ways of letting foreign powers know we are strong.”
Not so sure it’s foreign powers he’s wanting to influence.
>>I can’t wait to see the parade!! MAGA<<
Thanks for sharing a beautiful post that I feel sure expresses the thoughts and feelings of many here on FR.
>>Very bad idea IMO. Tinpot dictators stage big military parades but American presidents speak softly and carry big sticks. We have many other ways of letting foreign powers know we are strong. Besides, the Opposition is all to ready to typecast Trump as a “dictator” and this would fuel their media propaganda attacks.<<
I suspect you’ve expressed a point of view that would be strongly supported by all Trump haters throughout the world. To me that signals that it’s exactly the right thing to do.
Bingo.
Arguably the greatest march ever, but rivaled by other Sousa marches. There are a few marches that do approach the quality of the Stars and Stripes, the Colonel Bogey march (from the film, The Bridge on The River Kwai) to name one.
HW was a skunk. But he did throw an awesome parade after Gulf War 1. Tanks rolling down Constitution Ave, stealth fighters overhead, and one black DC cop who hated the whole thing. It was a perfect day that I still remember well over 25 years later.
My second was the shocked look on {fill in your favorite political figure to boo and hiss at here}'s face when the main gun barrel on an M1 Abrams is looking them right in the eye.
Agreed, the optics would be non-productive. Sara will be asked about it tomorrow without doubt.
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